Digital privacy stalwart Proton is reportedly set to interview employees across the company about how they use AI in their work, and the answers could help decide who keeps their job. The firm behind Proton Mail and Proton VPN – one of the best VPNs – told staff about the plan in an internal email on Monday, October 26, which was leaked to 404 Media.
The email calls the re-interviews "consequential." What interviewers conclude will be written up and fed into a broader review of the organization, which could change people's roles and responsibilities – or whether they stay at Proton.
The move fits a wider push under CEO Andy Yen, who has been steering Proton toward heavier AI use, including the launch of Lumo, its privacy-focused chatbot. Proton had not responded to 404 Media's request for comment at the time of publication, but has now made a public statement on Reddit.
In the Reddit comment on r/ProtonMail, posted from the Proton_Team account, the company claims it is "not doing layoffs and using AI as an excuse." As a counterpoint to this, it states it has a talent shortage and is hiring across the organization.
"AI is changing the tech industry," the comment continues, "and we, like everyone else, need to evolve our ways of working to remain effective in our industry, and to deliver features faster to users."
The company says it is "assessing how colleagues are adapting to these tools, what support they need, and who can help lead this work."
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